Galatasaray's Nordin Amrabat, right, fights for the ball with Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain during Champions League quarter-final action on Tuesday.

By:The Associated Press, Published on Tue Apr 09 2013

ISTANBUL—Real Madrid reached the Champions League semifinals for the third straight season on Tuesday despite losing 3-2 at Galatasaray following a second-half resurgence by the Turkish team.

Madrid needed a double from Cristiano Ronaldo to advance 5-3 on aggregate, but only after conceding three goals in a 16-minute span to raise Galatasaray’s hopes of pulling off what would have been an epic comeback.

Ronaldo looked to have wrapped up the quarter-final showdown by scoring in the seventh minute for a 4-0 overall lead, requiring Galatasaray to score at least five goals to advance.

The Portugal forward scored again in stoppage time for his 48th goal — including 11 in the Champions League — in 47 matches this season. But not before Galatasaray came alive with Emmanuel Eboue’s 57th-minute leveler.

Galatasaray forward Wesley Sneijder scored in the 71st, before Didier Drogba added another goal a minute later. Madrid was hanging on this stage as the crowd, whipped up into a fervour, urged the surging Galatasaray on.

“We’re happy for the classification, mission complete,” Ronaldo said. “Now we have to see which rival we will be paired with.”

Madrid right back Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off in injury time after being booked twice.

It will be Madrid’s 24th semifinal appearance in Europe’s top-tier club competition, although the team has been eliminated at that stage the past two years.

Madrid completely dominated the match until Eboue’s equalizer, which awakened Galatasaray’s attack and transformed the match from a placid stroll to a frantic contest largely staged in Madrid’s last third.

“It was our own fault that the game almost got out of hand,” said Ronaldo. “We can’t give anything away like that.”

Ronaldo opened last week’s first leg with a goal in the ninth minute to set Madrid on course, and he bettered that by two minutes Tuesday as the nine-time winners search for their first European Cup since 2002.

Making a tough challenge even more difficult, Galatasaray was without suspended top-scorer Burak Yilmaz, responsible for eight of the team’s 11 goals in the tournament. But after a tepid first half, veterans Sneijder and Drogba proved they were worth their winter signings.

Madrid is feared for its deadly pace and firepower on the break, but its opening goal was a product of a passing combination, helped by Galatasaray’s porous defence.

Ronaldo slipped along the six yard box, just staying onside to expertly redirect Sami Khedira’s cross into the far side of the net with his right foot after Mesut Oezil had played his fellow Germany midfielder clear on the side.

Ronaldo almost set up a second goal in the 24th when his nifty back-heeled pass left Angel Di Maria unmarked in the area, only for goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to palm the rising shot and send it high and wide.

In other Champions League action on Tuesday, Borussia Dortmund completed a dramatic comeback Tuesday by scoring twice in stoppage time to defeat Malaga 3-2 and advance to the semifinals for the first time in 15 years.

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.